Our team at Faissola Foundation is proud to sponsor underprivileged students at the London Academy of Excellence, Stratford (LAE) in their academic endeavors. Every year, we will be funding additional educational and professional resources for 10 A-Level students, including mentoring, career development services, guidance and educational trips.
Education inequality permeates society and has lasting consequences on disadvantaged youth.
Statistics show how underprivileged students are less likely to attain grades necessary for attending the more prestigious universities in the UK – 13% of children eligible for free school meals during their secondary education. Only 4% of disadvantaged students attend sixth forms that set them up for success.
Experiencing meaningful schooling can open worlds of opportunity for young people, but financial barriers can get in the way. With 5.2 million children in the UK living below the poverty line in 2022, we are honored to support an organisation like the LAE, devoted to addressing this ongoing crisis.
Likewise, the LAE is excited to collaborate in providing more in-depth support for students who need it. Headteacher of the LAE, Alexander Crossman said, “Working together, we will be able to do more to transform the life chances of ambitious, hard-working young people from low-income backgrounds.”
Granting admission to 40% to 50% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the LAE has made a name for itself as the highest performing sixth form in England to offer a full A-level curriculum. This past January, 31 LAE students, one third being from disadvantaged backgrounds, received offers from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. More than half of these students identify as first generation university students.
Coming from a family of educators, the parents of our founder, Michele Faissola, introduced him to the potential that education can have on individuals. “They taught me that all children can build a foundation for success given the right tools and resources,” he said.
Faissola believes that, “all young people have the right to equal opportunities when it comes to education, to ensure they are not at risk of suffering from social exclusion.” The foundation’s efforts to support the LAE students correlate with these ideas. He continued: “All children deserve a bright future.”
